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'November Nine' resume quest to win World Series of Poker title

&lsquo;November Nine&rsquo; resume quest to win World Series of Poker title

Sylvain Loosli of London is in Seat 1 for the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio on Monday.

&lsquo;November Nine&rsquo; resume quest to win World Series of Poker title

Michiel Brummelhuis of Amsterdam is in Seat 2 for the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio on Monday.

&lsquo;November Nine&rsquo; resume quest to win World Series of Poker title

Mark Newhouse of Las Vegas is in Seat 3 for the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio on Monday.

&lsquo;November Nine&rsquo; resume quest to win World Series of Poker title

Ryan Riess of Las Vegas is in Seat 4 for the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio on Monday.

&lsquo;November Nine&rsquo; resume quest to win World Series of Poker title

Amir Lehavot of Weston, Fla., is in Seat 5 for the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio on Monday.

&lsquo;November Nine&rsquo; resume quest to win World Series of Poker title

Marc-Etienne McLaughlin of Brossard, Quebec, Canada, is in Seat 6 for the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio on Monday.

&lsquo;November Nine&rsquo; resume quest to win World Series of Poker title

JC Tran of Sacramento, Calif., is in Seat 7 for the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio on Monday.

&lsquo;November Nine&rsquo; resume quest to win World Series of Poker title

David Benefield of New York City is in 8 for the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio on Monday.

&lsquo;November Nine&rsquo; resume quest to win World Series of Poker title

Jay Farber of Las Vegas is in Seat 9 for the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio on Monday.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Break’s over.

The World Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in No-limit Texas Hold ’em World Championship resumes at 4:45 p.m. today at the Rio’s Penn &Teller Theater following a 3½-month hiatus. The “November Nine” final table will be televised by ESPN2 on a 15-minute delay at 5 p.m. and play is scheduled to continue until two players remain.

The final two will return at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday with ESPN and go heads-up for the $8.35 million first prize. ESPN will broadcast the event on a 15-minute delay starting at 6 p.m.

The 44th annual WSOP Main Event started in July with 6,352 players from 83 countries for a total prize pool of $59,714,169.

J.C. Tran, 36, a professional poker player from Sacramento, Calif., was the chip leader when the Main Event paused July 17 and will open play today with 38 million in tournament chips.

“This opportunity might not ever come around again. Hopefully it does, but I have to maximize it,” Tran said. “In the end, I have to treat it like it’s the last tournament I’m playing in and put it all out on the table, and hopefully it works out.”

Israeli-born Amir Levahot is second in chips with 29.7 million, followed by Canadian Marc-Etienne McLaughlin with 26.525 million and Las Vegas resident Jay Farber with 25.975 million.

Here is a brief look at all of the “November Nine”:

Sylvain Loosli (Seat 1)

■ Age: 26

■ Hometown: London

■ Chip count: 19.6 million

■ Occupation: Professional poker player

■ WSOP earnings: $0 (entering Main Event)

■ Best Main Event finish: None

■ Odds to win: 11-2

■ Notes: Loosli, a native of Toulon, France, was called a “complete unknown” in July by Seth Palansky, vice president of corporate communications for Caesars Interactive Entertainment, which owns the WSOP. This is Loosli’s first cash in an event outside of his home country. ... Has a master’s degree in business.

■ Quotable: “So far in the tournament, I think many people underestimated me because they didn’t know anything about me. I knew what kind of image I have, and I can do some good bluffs using this image and I could change my pace and my game a lot.”

Michiel Brummelhuis (Seat 2)

■ Age: 32

■ Hometown: Amsterdam

■ Chip count: 11.275 million

■ Occupation: Professional poker player

■ WSOP earnings: $174,170

■ Best Main Event finish: None

■ Odds to win: 8-1

■ Notes: Brummelhuis, who finished Day 6 of the tournament 25th out of 27 players, is the first Dutch player to reach the final table of the Main Event (Marcel Luske was 10th in 2004). ... Brummelhuis’s girlfriend gave birth to son, Thijmen, on Sept. 13. ... Has seven previous WSOP cashes, and this is his third final table.

■ Quotable: “I look back and there were only two hands in the Main Event that I don’t think I play correctly, I think. I’m satisfied with that. You can’t always play perfectly, but if I was going to play those hands wrong, I’m glad it happened earlier rather than (late in the tournament).”

Mark Newhouse (Seat 3)

■ Age: 28

■ Hometown: Las Vegas

■ Chip count: 7.35 million

■ Occupation: Professional poker player

■ WSOP earnings: $162,386

■ Best Main Event finish: 182nd in 2011

■ Odds to win: 15-1

■ Notes: Originally from Chapel Hill, N.C., Newhouse has entered the Main Event every year since 2006. He has seven previous WSOP cashes. ... Took home more than $1.5 million for winning the World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open in 2006, but admitted in an interview with PokerNews.com that he made several poor financial decisions and frittered away much of his winnings. ... Spent two semesters at Appalachian State.

Ryan Riess (Seat 4)

■ Age: 23

■ Hometown: Las Vegas

■ Chip count: 25.875 million

■ Occupation: Professional poker player

■ WSOP earnings: $30,569

■ Best Main Event finish: None

■ Odds to win: 7-2

■ Notes: The youngest member of the “November Nine,” Riess was born in East Lansing, Mich., and has a degree in business from Michigan State. ... He cashed in three other WSOP tournaments this summer, including an 11th-place finish in a $1,000 buy-in No-limit Texas Hold ’em event. Riess finished second and earned almost $240,000 at a WSOP Circuit Event in October 2012 at Hammond, Ind. ... Nicknamed “Riess the Beast.”

■ Quotable: “I expected to be here the whole time. I’ve been playing amazing. I five-bet folded kings pre-flop on Day 3. ... I’ve just been playing really well and smart and using pot control, and I think I’m going to win it.”

Amir Lehavot (Seat 5)

■ Age: 38

■ Hometown: Weston, Fla.

■ Chip count: 29.7 million

■ Occupation: Professional poker player

■ WSOP earnings: $818,414 (1 bracelet)

■ Best Main Event finish: 226th in 2009

■ Odds to win: 3-1

■ Notes: The native of Israel is the oldest player at the final table and one of two WSOP bracelet winners, joining J.C. Tran. Levahot won the $10,000 buy-in Pot-limit Omaha championship in 2011 and has 12 career WSOP cashes. ... Levahot owns a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas.

■ Quotable: “I think it’s a disadvantage that there are many good players (at the final table), but that’s OK. I’ll just deal with the table and the players and make the best I can out of the situation. ... The experience definitely helps. I do feel I have a good amount of experience.”

Marc-Etienne McLaughlin (Seat 6)

■ Age: 25

■ Hometown: Brossard, Quebec

■ Chip count: 26.525 million

■ Occupation: Entrepreneur

■ WSOP earnings: $639,168

■ Best Main Event finish: 30th in 2009

■ Odds to win: 4-1

■ Notes: McLaughlin is looking to become the second French Canadian to win the Main Event, joining close friend Jonathan Duhamel (2010). He’s also looking to continue a remarkable run by his country in the WSOP as Canadians captured 10 bracelets this summer. ... Has six previous WSOP cashes. ... He attended the University de Sherbrooke.

■ Quotable: “In 2009, I finished 30th. In 2011, I finished 86th, and now hopefully I’ll be here until the end. I learned to be more patient in some spots. My very first year, I finished 30th, but I was really young and super aggressive. Now, I balance everything, and I’m a more well-rounded poker player.”

J.C. Tran (Seat 7)

■ Age: 36

■ Hometown: Sacramento, Calif.

■ Chip count: 38 million

■ Occupation: Professional poker player

■ WSOP Earnings: $2,257,726 (2 bracelets, 1 circuit ring)

■ Best Main Event Finish: 108th in 2009

■ Odds to win: 11-5

■ Notes: The chip leader at the final table also is the most accomplished player. Including circuit events, Tran has three WSOP titles and 44 cashes. He was also the World Poker Tour Season 5 Player of the Year and has more than $9 million in lifetime winnings. ... Tran has a degree in business management information systems from Cal State-Sacramento.

■ Quotable: “The game has grown so much. People pick it up through videos and books. Even if you came in Day 1 (of the Main Event) not knowing the best strategy, if you made it to Day 7, you’ve seen enough by now you should learn and pick up new things. A lot of these guys already came in with a lot of knowledge.”

David Benefield (Seat 8)

■ Age: 27

■ Hometown: New York City

■ Chip count: 6.375 million

■ Occupation: Consultant/student

■ WSOP Earnings: $455,713

■ Best Main Event Finish: 73rd in 2008

■ Odds to win: 12-1

■ Notes: Originally from Fort Worth, Texas, Benefield enters the final table with the shortest stack. ... Better known in poker circles as “Raptor,” he is one of the most highly regarded Internet cash-game players. Benefield currently lists himself as a “retired poker pro.” He is studying political science and Chinese at Columbia.

■ Quotable: “I went back to school four years ago. I was trying to think about things I wanted to do in my life and completing college was one of those things. It seemed like a reasonable time to go back because I couldn’t play online really anymore.”

Jay Farber (Seat 9)

■ Age: 29

■ Hometown: Las Vegas

■ Chip count: 25.975 million

■ Occupation: VIP host at Hakkasan (MGM Grand Hotel)

■ WSOP Earnings: $0

■ Best Main Event Finish: None

■ Odds to win: 5-1

■ Notes: Farber, who grew up in Santa Barbara, Calif., is primarily a cash-game player and will likely have a large local following at the final table. Farber had several poker pros vocally supporting him on during the tournament in July. ... Farber has a degree in business from UC Santa Barbara.

■ Quotable: “I really enjoy playing the Main Event just because it’s more like playing a deep-stack cash game, which is right up my alley. For the first few days, I was lucky enough to have a decent amount of chips in front of me, so I just got to play my style of poker and it worked out really well. I exploited my image and went from there.”